The Haj - Leon Uris [199]
‘The leaders of the Arab world must bear the main responsibility for our problem,’ he said. ‘They, the wealthy Palestinians who fled before a shot was fired, and the Mufti who tried to rule us through terror and assassination are the unholy trinity. They told us, “Brothers, we are working for your interests and victory is close at hand.” This was the first of many lies that undermined our existence.’
Murmurs of agreement floated up to the projection room. I believe that, to a delegate, everyone was awed by the courage of Charles Maan.
‘The Dier Yassin massacre was deliberately blown out of all proportion, as well as false reports of Jewish atrocities. What man here will secretly whisper in my ear that his wife was really desecrated and his child was thrown into a well and drowned? These were lies that flitted from false tongues to false ears.
‘... It was the outright refusal of anyone to step forward and speak the ways of peace with the Jews. It is a peace now enjoyed by a hundred and fifty thousand of our brothers who remained in Israel. Does not their existence, your cousins and my cousins in the Jewish state, put to rest the perfidious propaganda of the Arab leaders who stated that anyone who remained would be murdered by the Jews?’
Chucking their fear, a number of men began to rise.
‘Charles Maan speaks the truth!’
‘We have been betrayed!’
‘Death to the liars in Damascus!’
The little teacher held up his hands for silence. ‘We were put upon, sent into a war for which we were not prepared and which we did not need. It ruined agriculture, created unemployment, the black market, and famine, and forced us to leave. Once our noble armies breached Israel’s borders and her settlements were attacked for plunder, the Jews were not under any obligation to protect a hostile Arab population. Do any of you believe we would not have annihilated the Jews if we were winning the war?’
The murmur in the audience grew to a rumble.
‘What have the Jews done to us to compare to what the Arabs have done to us? The Syrian refugee camps have no sanitation, no allotments of clothing, and the only food is from international charity. No Palestinian in Syria can travel beyond the camp in which he dwells. Hundreds of our people have been thrown into Syrian jails without charges and without trials. Their attempts to organize have been brutally crushed.
‘The Lebanese took in our wealthiest citizens, who bought respectability with dollars and sterling. But their camps are no better than these dismal rat-breeders we live in. Do you know where you can get Red Crescent supplies? They are sold openly in the streets of Beirut. The Lebanese are very generous. They allow our people to work. You will find our children sweeping the streets, cleaning the toilets, peddling, washing dishes in cafes. But you will not find them in schools, for it is forbidden to educate a Palestinian child. Aha, the generous Lebanese allow our people to leave the camps and rent homes where the rates are double what is charged their own citizens. The drinking water is foul in many Lebanese camps, and the sale of water often robs our people of their last penny. Hear this, O brother, the Lebanese Refugee Committee has issued this statement,’ he said, holding it aloft. ‘They blame the Mufti of Jerusalem and the leaders of the Arab nations for their plight! Not the Jews but the Arabs! Read it, my brothers.
Read it and weep. Do I have to speak about Jordan, my brothers? Do we not know the bitterness of that tale?’
‘Death to Abdullah!’
‘Death to the Arab Legion!’
‘Be careful,’ Charles Maan said, ‘be careful. Abdullah has ears among us. Ears that should be sliced off and pickled in a jar.’ He turned the page of his report and looked down from